Parking is the part of Nights of Lights that ruins evenings. Not the crowds, not the cold, not the wait for a table. It is the forty-five minutes spent looping San Marco while everybody in the car gets quieter and less festive.
We all park downtown year-round, so we have opinions about this. Here is every option, what it costs, and which one we would actually pick.
Park Free and Ride the Shuttle In
This is the best option available to you and most visitors have never heard of it.
On participating dates the city runs a free shuttle from 1:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. You park for free at any of three lots and ride into the middle of everything:
• Broudy's Lot, 198 West King Street, just off US1
• North San Marco Lot, 301 San Marco Avenue
• St. Johns County Health Department, 200 San Sebastian View
The shuttle drops you at the Visitor Information Center, which puts you at the north end of the display and about a twelve-minute walk from the King Street restaurants. Free parking, a free ride, and you skip the part where you drive into the crowd. Check the city's site for this season's participating dates before you go.
City Street Parking and the ParkStAug App
If you would rather park downtown and walk straight out into it, city parallel spaces and public lots run $2.50 an hour for non-residents. St. Johns County residents pay $0.50 an hour with the resident discount, and if you live here and have not set that up, do it this week.
Pay at a kiosk with a card or use the ParkStAug app, which is easier and lets you extend your session from wherever you happen to be standing.
The closest city parking to the heart of the display is the first and second blocks of King Street, the blocks around Cathedral Place, and St. George Street east of Casa Monica.
Two things worth knowing. City parking is free after 9:00 p.m., which makes a late dinner genuinely cheaper than an early one. And drivers with a disabled parking permit park free.
The Historic Downtown Parking Garage
The garage at 1565 Cordova Street, across from the Visitor Information Center, holds 1,200 cars. It is the most reliable place in town to find a space on a busy night, and on shuttle days it is also the most expensive thing you can do.
Last season it ran $20 for the day when the shuttle was not operating. On shuttle days it was $20 before 1:00 p.m. and climbed to $40 after. Confirm this season's rates before you commit, but the pattern holds: if you are arriving downtown in the afternoon, the free shuttle lots beat the garage and it is not close.
Coming Over From Anastasia Island
Do not drive the Bridge of Lions. Anybody who has attempted it at seven o'clock on a December Saturday knows exactly why.
The STAR Shuttle runs from November 21 through January 11, skipping December 31, between 5:00 p.m. and midnight. It drops off at 201 Gerado Street, just east of the bridge, and you walk in from there in about twelve minutes.
Let Dinner Pay for Your Parking
A few downtown restaurants will take your parking off the bill, which turns a paid city space into a free one.
17 King, at the corner of King and Aviles, credits two hours of parking back on your check when you show your server an active ParkStAug session. It triggers on a $75 tab, a wine tasting for two, or Friday lunch. Their page also breaks down the lots block by block, which is worth a look no matter where you end up eating.
If you know of other downtown spots doing this, tell us and we will add them.
One Last Thing
Park once. The entire display is walkable and the walk is the whole point. Moving the car halfway through the evening is how people end up spending Nights of Lights looking for parking instead of looking at lights.
17 King is owned by the publishers of King Street Journal.
Park smart, and enjoy the walk!